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7/29/10

Fresh in the West Village

I've recently begun a love affair with the West Village. In my almost two years here I must admit that I've neglected this neighborhood, but I have recently given it my full attention and I utterly and faithfully can't get enough. So when the opportunity presented itself (cough, Twitter contest, cough) for me to visit Braeburn on Perry Street at Greenwich Street, I jumped.

Braeburn is another restaurant to hop on the Twitter giveaway bandwagon and I think it's pretty much one of the smartest marketing tools ever. With so many wonderful eateries in this city, some find a way to stick out above the rest and Braeburn is one. Like Supper, Braeburn does the "First person to retweet this gets a free ____." Well, I retweeted and the next day my roommate retweeted as well. We both were offered any appetizer we wanted on Tuesday night. I'd heard their menu was fantastic from some Restaurant Week suggestions, but I wasn't prepared for the awesomeness I enjoyed.

It was Tina's birthday and we had plans to meet up with other people later, so we arrived at Braeburn on the early side. Some could see this as bad timing, but I saw it as us getting the best service possible - we had 3 people waiting on us, all exceedingly sweet and wonderful. The dining room is decorated peacefully and clean with dark wood lining the sunflower yellow walls and a long pastoral painting hanging on the North side of the dining room. I could see this place being very romantic after the sun sets and the candles really glow.

We were started off with pickled watermelon in mint oil. I'm an adventurous eater, but even I was a little scared at first. It sure looked pretty but the thought of watermelon, mint, oil and pickled all in one bite was a bit too much for me to imagine meshing. In the end, this daring creation was fabulous. So many flavor profiles all at once, it was like a refreshing summer picnic explosion in my mouth!

Pickled Watermelon in Mint Oil

Braeburn has a reputation for serving some wonderfully creative cocktails. My roommate ordered the Gin 'n Juice - Bombay Sapphire gin, cucumber juice, elderflower and lime - while I opted for a glass of the Sparkling Apple Cider 'Antoinette' Duchee de Longuville (hey, the place is called Braeburn!). Both were very refreshing and I'd like to return to try more of their mixology creations.

Gin 'n Juice and Sparkling Apple Cider

After enjoying some fresh-out-of-the-oven herb rolls (I believe there was cheese or something else awesome in them), we began salivating for our appetizers. I settled on the Hand Cut Black Pepper Fettucine with blistered cherry tomato, preserved lemon and sheep's milk ricotta while my roommate ordered the Day Boat Sea Scallop with roasted cherry tomatoes, marjoram, toasted bread crumbs and black olive crust. I never knew fettucine could taste so amazing. Again with the many many flavors you're not sure will go together, but the combination of the pepper, the lemon and the ricotta (you can never, repeat, NEVER, go wrong when eating ricotta) left me speechless. The scallops were cooked to perfection, buttery in texture, and the bread crumbs added a nice crunch to the dish.

Hand Cut Black Pepper Fettucine

Day Boat Sea Scallop

After we finished eating, I don't think either one of us wanted to leave. The entrees were a bit pricey for a regular dinner out, but I would highly recommend this for special occasions (especially of the romantic kind). I'll definitely be bringing my parents here next time they come to town.

If I had to sum up my entire experience at Braeburn in one word, it would have to be fresh (honestly, did you count how many times I used that word or one like it in this post?). The second word would be awesome. Gold star for you Braeburn, I will be back!